Bloom into EdTech: The Blog

Today during an ISTE Certified Teacher virtual meeting, I used a “newsroom” animated virtual background for Zoom that I created using Screencastify and Canva. I was asked how I made this possible. Below are the directions: First, here is my example so you have some context as to how to make this work: Okay, the steps…. I personally recorded my screen using Screencastify and exported the recording into an animated Gif. Then on to Canva …. In Canva, I started by Creating a Design using Custom Dimensions and setting the dimensions just below the recommended 1920px by 1080px (16:9 aspect ratio) from Zoom. (I originally had it set at the recommended ratio but was advised by Zoom that it was too large of a file when I went to upload it). I went to work creating my virtual background. Once content, I then uploaded the animated gif that I recorded and downloaded from Screencastify into Canva and added it as part of my background. Then download it as an MP4. You can also download as animated ...

Can I tell you how excited I am? It is such a great honor that I have been selected the Certified BrainPOP Educator of the month for March 2017! If you have been following me on Twitter  or this blog, then you probably already know how passionate I am about using BrainPOP! I love the many features, like Make-a-Map, Quizzes, the ability to assign movies, and so on that it provides. I am now in love with BrainPOP's new feature, Make-a-Movie. {I will be demonstrating that feature for you shortly, as well as provide you with a lesson plan} For my complete interview, hop on over to BrainPOP here . Happy teaching!

Omigoodness- no way! The moment that I have been waiting for: you can now insert videos from your Google Drive into Google Slides!!! Why is this so exciting?  For starters, say your students spent hours creating a "how to video" or they created a video just in general, and they do not have the ability to have a YouTube Channel, this is a great way to embed their videos into Google Slides! For educators or trainers like myself this is also a great way to share information with your faculty and staff. I often create videos that specifically pertain to my fellow educators at my school. Inserting videos from Google Drive into Google Slides would be a fabulous way for me to create a library of my "in-house" videos for an easy one-stop location. How would you use this new feature?

Roses are red, Violets are blue. Here are some coding sites just for you. Wow. Sorry. I couldn't help it. It's that time of year again. Where we fall head over heels in love. Why not this year- fall in love with coding? Here are some ideas to get you and your students started! From Tynker: On Cloud Nine Create a Valentine's Card From Google's Made w/ Code: Fall in Love with Code From Thinkful: Code a Valentine's Day eCard

Animoto is a great tool to use as an educator. At my school we use it religiously every month to showcase what we have been up to at our school to our families. Animoto can be just as powerful in your classroom as well. Students can use the tool to produce digital stories, explanation videos or powerful presentations. You can use it as a way for your students to create a gift for their families around special occasions such as Christmas, Mother's Day or graduation. I have created a tutorial that I use with my professional developments. Please feel free to use it for yourself by clicking here . Don't forget to check out my Website, Bloom Into EdTech  where I organize all my tutorials in one neat place! How do you use Animoto in your classroom?

Internet Safety concepts are sometimes hard for the younger student. Below I listed  a few of my favorite resources. Video: Story: ABCya's Cyber Five Video:  Faux Paw's Adventures in the Internet (Oldie but Goodie) Game: Webonauts BrainPOP Jr.'s Internet Safety What's you favorite resource?

A few months ago, I was sent on a quest that was initiated by my middle school science teacher to find her an easy-to-use digital worksheet creator that will grade for her. That is where I stumbled upon Wizer.me. So, if you are on the hunt for an application where you can create, share and grade digital worksheets; look no further than Wizer.me ! I have been an advent user of this application myself for a few months now and love the features that this platform keeps adding! I find that if I get myself involved with the app, understand it and fall in love with it- the easier it is to share it with my staff. Although the list does not stop here, below is a list of some of the perks to creating a digital worksheet in Wizer.me: Ability to assign your Worksheets to Google Classroom, Edmodo or with a link. Promotes collaboration as Wizer.me has an abundant amount of "Community Worksheets" that educators can share with one another. Question options, such as fill in the ...

As educators, how do we know if we are doing a good job in providing our students with the best opportunities for the future? We can look at test scores and evaluate data, but are our students engaged? Are they learning? More importantly- are they satisfied? What if we were to create an education that encompassed our students' needs while delivering content that was relevant to them. What would that look like? A little background before we begin.... My current place of employment is a private nonprofit school located in a small suburban town. We have block scheduling, with ELA and Math taking up three periods of the schedule every other day and Social Studies and Science taking up two. I only see them for one period. Sad. I know. In my small corner of the world, I took it upon myself to ask my middle school students a series of questions in an anonymous survey. {I, of course, at first had to explain anonymity to a few to ensure honest results.} It was even asked to be c...

So much pressure is placed in education on using technology. However, in many classrooms it is the teacher utilizing the technology for presentation of their notes, and the students are the ones who are handwriting them down in journals and notebooks. In my opinion, using digital tools in the classroom as a form of note taking is a tremendous stride in the right direction. There are many tools that can assist students with note taking; G Suite , Evernote, Notability, etc. are just a few of the examples. Today’s big push appears the interactive notebooks. An interactive notebook is a paper notebook that allows students to place notes and teachers can create activities within the sheets of paper (Interactive-notebooks-home, N.D.). I could easily see this transition to students using either Google Slides in conjunction with Google Draw or Evernote to create an interactive notebook and replace its paper counterpart. Some advantages of incorporating digital notes into your...

There are many approaches to teaching your students a new "tech tool" and depending on the amount of time that you have will vary your approach. One way that I introduce a new tech tool, other than walking the student step-by-step through the process, is allowing them to, well, play! Why I love allowing students to play with a new tech tool : It promotes creativity. I don't expect an end product. It alleviates stress of having to create something that has such a binding contract. It fosters collaboration and teachable moments. If you allow require your students to get out of their seats and assist their peers, the entire learning process is now in their hands. Talk about student-centered learning at it's finest. When it comes time to create the "final product" they understand the tool (maybe even more than you do at this point), and may reiterate to you what they have learned more clearly. They may take advantage of the advantages of 20% Ti...

Like many computer education teachers out there, I myself am responsible for the technology in-services provided to the teachers and staff within my school building. Being an Educational Technologist has taught me a lot about how technology works across the curriculum, in individual classrooms and how my lesson and unit plans can aid in the success of classroom teacher's integration of technology. Below is a very interesting infographic about how teachers are more apt to using technology (yay!) and how their students are very receptive to it- and how technology is even raising test scores!   Please Include Attribution to OnlineUniversities.com With This Graphic

  Enjoy these free online December Holiday Game sites for kids! December is a very cultural rich month covering Kwanzaa, Christmas and Hanukkah. Take time with your class and explore these different traditions by playing online games. Hanukkah Web sites Primary Games The Kidz Page Christmas Web sites Kaboose Northpole.com Primary Games Christmas Billy Bear 4 Kids Kwanzaa Web sites Primary Games- Kwanzaa   The Kidz Page- Kwanzaa

Being a computer teacher has its rewards- one of which is working collaboratively with your coworkers. Study Island can provide just that. Pre-planning to use Study Island (well, the pre-planning on behalf of the classroom teachers that is) in the computer lab can make implementation run more smoothly and build a stronger connection between the classroom lesson and the computer lab. Have the classroom teacher create a test based on what they have been learning about and post it to their class page. The teacher log-in also provides resources for teachers, such as; lesson plans, printables and videos! All of this is available under My Assignments. Please note: that Study Island Provides State Standards for the core within the program. Goal: Develop a strong classroom teacher- computer teacher relationship to make Study Island in the computer lab a success! How and when to implement Study Island in the computer lab? First and foremost,  spend a computer lab class or two introducin...

Are you a daycare center, private in-home child care or preschool and are considering setting up a computer lab for children ages 3-4? You may be asking yourself- where do I start? What type of equipment will I need? My students look so little- what is the best computer hardware for their little hands? How long should a preschool computer class be? Well, I am here to answer a few questions for you! First we will start with some suggested technology hardware for the preschool-aged child: Suggested Keyboard to use - color coded. Try to find one that has vowels and constants in separate colors (helps with many lessons- of which you will find here) and that all the numbers are another color. Suggested Mouse: Small and multi-color is key. I personally found it easier to tell the 3-4 year old child to press on the blue-left side of the mouse than to say "left click". Suggested office furniture: Small- age appropriate desks like the one you see below that is best suited for ages 2...

If you would like to take a break from the norm, holidays are the perfect opportunity to kick back, relax and enjoy some holiday-themed games. Some are more educational than others- but sometimes it's okay to just play! http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/thanksgiving/games.htm http://www.thekidzpage.com/thanksgiving_games/index.html http://funschool.kaboose.com/fun-blaster/thanksgiving/games/index.html http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/thanks/thgame.htm

Do your students continuously interchange the terms "Internet" and "World Wide Web"? They are not synonymous! Teach your students the difference between the two! Great informational sites include: Webopedia How Stuff Works Diffen Quick project ideas: Use Inspiration or Kidspiration Software to visually map out the differences between the two. Use PowerPoint to create a slideshow. Divide the class into two- one half will create facts about the Internet and the other about the World Wide Web. Create a Spreadsheet or Word Document listing the differences between the Internet and World Wide Web.

    ABCya.com is a a great resource for elementary computer and classroom teachers to have. I used this Web site a lot when I introduced the Internet to young children. It is very easy to navigate and teaches children how to use the forward and back button as well as the "X" that closes out a window. More importantly it is a great way to reinforce mouse manipulation- and it's fun! Great Resources for Computer Education: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade  Computer Vocabulary: Find the Technology Learn ABCya.com's Buttons Color, Draw & Paint 3rd - 5th Grade Computer Input and Output Devices Make an Animation Aside that, ABCya.com offers educational games in language arts and math. From  ABCya.com "All children's educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. All educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn." I strongly suggest t...